Hardships Under StarClan
by Loki-BlackWolf
Summary: What if Bluestar had not picked Tigerclaw to be deputy, what if she had picked another cat? What if she had chosen Longtail instead? - On Hold
1. Not Part of the Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or any of the character.**

**Summary: **What if Bluestar had not picked Tigerclaw to be deputy, what if she had picked another cat? What if she had chosen Longtail instead? Follow Longtail as he tries to follow the warrior code and serve his Clan while the figures of Tigerclaw and Darkstripe linger over him, trying to manipulate him.

**Chapter One- **Not Part of the Plan

Bluestar took a deep breath and continued. "I say these words before the body of Lionheart, so he may hear and approve my choice." She hesitatingly paused, seemingly going over her choice in her mind. "I have not forgotten the way he questioned the acceptance of young Firepaw, but through him StarClan showed their approval of my choice. He has shown nothing but loyalty to ThunderClan and StarClan, and more then ever ThunderClan needs his undying loyalty." Bluestar paused once again before meowing the name of her choice loud and clear. "Longtail will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

Yowls of approval sounded throughout the camp. Firepaw turned to look at Tigerclaw, the cat that the whole Clan thought would become deputy, and found the dark tabby barely counseling a dark look, as he appeared to glare at Longtail. Darkstripe was at Tigerclaw's side, looking very confused and shocked. Firepaw had heard that Darkstripe had mentored Longtail and the apprentice guessed that Darkstripe never thought his old apprentice would become deputy one way.

The apprentice then turned to the new deputy who was being congratulated by the rest of the Clan. The pale tabby looked surprised by the sudden change in his rank, but he also seemed nervous. Firepaw guessed Longtail was nervous about his new reasonability; it was the most reasonable reason behind it.

Longtail slowly made his way up to Highrock and leapt up next to the blue she-cat to address the Clan. "ThunderClan," he yowled out in a slightly wavering voice, "I am honored to accept the position of Clan deputy. I vow to serve you and the Clan as best as I can." He dipped his head toward the body of Lionheart, pausing for a long moment, before leaping off into the coward.

Firepaw heard Ravenpaw sigh in relief beside him. "Thank StarClan," he heard the black apprentice mummer under his breath to their warrior ancestors.

Firepaw was curious as to what Ravenpaw meant, but the other apprentice and Graypaw had already moved back to Lionheart's body to sit vigil with the other warriors. The orange tom quickly moved over to join his friends in the mourning of their lost deputy.

The next day, Bluestar was appointed guards and Yellowfang had been fully accepted as a member of ThunderClan. When Firepaw went out to find some wild garlic for his rat bites, he stumbled upon Tigerclaw, Longtail, and Darkstripe talking together.

"You becoming deputy was not part of the plan, Longtail," Tigerclaw hissed at the pale tabby, who sat with his head and ears low.

"I'm sorry, Tigerclaw. I didn't know that Bluestar would pick me over you," Longtail told the older warrior.

"You could have declined the offer to become deputy," Darkstripe hissed at his former apprentice, going so far to make a paw swipe at Longtail.

"No, no, Darkstripe. This could still work," Tigerclaw meowed. "But this isn't the main reason why I wanted to talk to you two."

"What is it?" Darkstripe asked, almost eagerly, turning his back on Longtail who had shrunk back from them.

"It's Ravenpaw. Even though he is my apprentice, I can't believe he would be a traitor like that to go and tell ShadowClan this," Tigerclaw informed them.

"We can't have traitors in ThunderClan," Darkstripe growled darkly.

"Yes, I would have to agree with you, Darkstripe," Tigerclaw mewed. "Even if he is my apprentice."

Firepaw would not believe what he was hearing! Slowly, he backed away and turned back to the camp, completely forgetting about the wild garlic. He had to tell Bluestar what he just heard; his friend was in danger. He knew he had to somehow convince the leader that he was telling the truth.


	2. Hardest Part

**Disclaimer- I don't own Warriors of any of the characters.**

**Hardships Under StarClan**

**Chapter Two- **The Hardest Part

When events that you know you could do something to stop them from happening happens, the hardest part is to just watch them all go by and not being able to do anything. And this is what happened to Longtail, he watched as everything happened that he knew he could have prevented from going wrong. He watched as Spottedleaf was found dead, watched as Graypaw and Firepaw saved ShadowClan, as Yellowfang was made ThunderClan's new medicine cat, as Graypaw and Firepaw turned into warriors, as he was given Swiftpaw, as Fireheart and Graystripe brought WindClan home, and as the two new warriors were given apprentices. He watched it all and had done nothing.

Longtail had been too busy with his duties as deputy and as a mentor to attend any of those meeting with Tigerclaw and Darkstripe anymore, but he knew that Tigerclaw was planning something. When Swiftpaw had caught a cold while Bluestar had contracted greencough, the pale tabby knew something was up with Tigerclaw and Darkstripe for when he tried to talk to them, they would always find an excuse to leave him.

The ThunderClan deputy had been in with Bluestar, being careful not to catch greencough though, reporting the health of the Clan, when he heard some commotion outside the leader's den. He went to see what was going on, but he could only find Dustpaw.

"Dustpaw, what's going on out here?" Longtail called out to the apprentice.

"Tigerclaw found signs of ShadowClan on our side of the Thunderpath! He was asking for Bluestar, but Yellowfang said she was too sick. Fireheart said he would go instead, but Cinderpaw is now missing," Dustpaw told Longtail.

"I'll go find her, stay here and guard the camp," Longtail ordered and dashed out of ThunderClan's camp. He had watched Fireheart's apprentice as he trained Swiftpaw and he knew by seeing her personality, she would have gone to the Thunderpath if she had heard what Dustpaw had to say.

When the Thunderpath came into sight, Longtail skidded to a halt. By the ash tree, he saw Fireheart carrying out an unmistakable injured body from the other side. It took a moment for the deputy to see that it was Cinderpaw's body that he was carrying. He had been too late for whatever had happened and Longtail felt that deep down he knew that he could have prevented this from happening. His Clan was suffering so much and he had done nothing to help, he had to be the worst deputy in all of Clan history.

Longtail had had enough, he was going to now try to be the best deputy he could possible be. He would not sit by and watch things happen anymore, his Clan needed him more then ever now and he _will_ be there for them.

**Sorry for the long long wait for just a short chapter. I've been extremely busy with school and whatnot. I lost my copies of Forest of Secrets and Rising Storm, so I need those before I can get the next few chapters up. It won't take too long… I hope.**


	3. Painful Memories

**Sorry for 7 month long wait for this chapter to come out. A wait this long with not happen again, I promise. Please forgive me and hopefully this long awaited chapter will make up for it. Again, sorry.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own warriors or any of the characters… Wait, no. That isn't true, I mentioned a cat that isn't real…**

**Hardships Under StarClan**

**Chapter Three – Painful Memories**

Longtail padded through the fern tunnel into the Medicine Cat's den. Looking around, he saw Brindleface's kits and Patchpelt asleep in dens on one side and on the side was Cinderpaw asleep in a nest with Fireheart at her side. Though he could not see Yellowfang, he suspected she was in her nest in the crack in the rock or fetching more herbs for he did see her in the other parts of camp before he came through the fern tunnel.

The pale tabby padded over to the orange colored tom and whispered at his side, "How is she?"

Looking up with wide green eyes, Fireheart was shocked to find the deputy uninjured in the Medicine Cat's den. Before he answered, he lowered his green eyes back to his apprentice, "Her leg is broken and infected. Yellowfang said that even if she fully recovers, she could never be a warrior." The tom flinched as he retold Yellowfang's diagnosis. "I can't help but feel responsible even though everyone keeps saying that it wasn't my fault."

Looking down at the fitfully sleeping Cinderpaw, Longtail's light blue eyes clouded with understanding and sorrow. "Did you know Sandpaw had a brother?" It seems like a completely random question from the deputy that surprised the orange tom yet again.

Looking up and shaking his head, "No, I did not know Sandpaw had a brother."

"Well, she did," Longtail started, narrowing his eyes and looked as if he was in a far off land as he relived his memories in his head. "I was given him to mentor after I became a warrior. I did not have very long with him until that day came," slowly his voice grew a more depressed tone as he began to recount that day was not too long ago. "I was out on a patrol, but I had asked Runningwind to go hunting with him while I was away from camp. Runningwind had turned his back for a moment and my apprentice chased a rabbit onto the Thunderpath, he did not notice the Monster coming until it was too late. He died with the rabbit still in his jaws."

The tabby paused and Fireheart waited for him to continue which he soon did. "At first I was furious at Runningwind for taking his eyes off of him for even a moment, but I soon came to realize it was not my fellow warrior who I blamed for my apprentice's death, it was only myself. I kept thinking that if only I had trained him better or warned him more of the dangers of the Thunderpath he would still be alive today. Redtail, Brindleface, and Sandpaw told me many times that I was not at fault. It wasn't until Bluestar came to talk to me about it that I realized that I really couldn't have done anything about it and I had done the best that I could with him while I had him as my apprentice."

Longtail turned back to the orange tomcat and rested his tail on his shoulders in a comforting gesture. "I understand exactly what you are feeling right now, Fireheart, but you have to come to turns with the fact your did best with Cinderpaw; there was nothing you could have done to help to her. She is in the paws of StarClan now, they have laid out her path long before you became her mentor and she follow it till the end."

Fireheart leaned forward and gave the deputy's ear a long lick of sympathy. The orange cat had no idea the pain the other had gone through and he felt sorry for the other. But, at the same time he also felt better that someone finally understood the torment of feelings he was going through over Cinderpaw and that his relationship with Longtail seemed to be finally improving even if it was because of a shared experience with apprentices' and their accidents on the Thunderpath.

"Would you two go do that somewhere else that is not my den?" Yellowfang's grumpy voice cut through the two toms' shared moment together, ending it rather quickly.

The two leapt apart and saw that the old medicine cat had wandered out of her crack in the rock. Flustered at the misunderstanding they tried to explain themselves, but it did not seem to be convincing the old cat.

"No need to be so shy. I see no wrong in this for there is nothing against it in the Warrior Code," Yellowfang told them, highly amused by their reactions.

"This is all just a misunderstanding," the two wailed together and continued to speak incoherently overtop of one another to get the she-cat to understand that it wasn't what it looked like.

"Sure, whatever," the medicine cat said, growing tired of their reactions. "Is there anything you need, Longtail?"

"No, I was just checking on Cinderpaw. Is there anything to report to Bluestar?" Longtail said, explaining the reason of his visit to the Medicine Cat's den.

"No, everyone is still at the same state of health as the last time you came to ask me," Yellowfang told him.

Longtail then left claiming he had a patrol to put together or something, though it was clear he wanted to get away from the she-cat. Yellowfang turned her attention on to the orange tom left in her den. "So, what really was going on between you and Longtail?" she asked.

"Nothing!" Fireheart wailed and fled the Medicine Cat's Den through the fern tunnel, leaving Yellowfang alone with her patients.

"Toms," the old medicine cat scowled. "Always making no sense what so ever and blowing things way out of proportion."

**I really do imagine Yellowfang would do that for her own entertainment. XD And there is nothing about same gender relationships in the Warrior Code. Does that mean they accept these relationships or did they never happen before in the Clans? There's no need to answer that question, that's just me letting my thoughts being known.**

**Shh… Don't tell Sandpaw I gave her brother without a name…**


End file.
